Our only impact
is on your taste buds




Leaving footprints in the sand, not on the planet


Sustainability is at the heart of what we do. Have a quick chat with any of us, and it will soon become apparent. From selecting the suppliers that we work with or the ingredients we use, through to the services we offer in our stores, pubs, and hotels, it guides our decisions, and helps us do the right thing. We want to continue making a positive difference, and we believe it is vital to our long-term success.

Sustainability is at the heart of what we do. Have a quick chat with any of us, and it will soon become apparent. From selecting the suppliers that we work with or the ingredients we use, through to the services we offer in our stores, pubs, and hotels, it guides our decisions, and helps us do the right thing. We want to continue making a positive difference, and we believe it is vital to our long-term success.



championing our community

CHAMPIONING OUR COMMUNITY

Our local community is very important to us, after all, most of us live there. We donate 1% of our annual profits to valuable causes via The Adnams Community Trust. To date, the Trust has awarded over 1,500 grants to organisations within 25 miles of Southwold. It has supported lots of amazing projects doing vital work, and we're proud of playing our part. Find out more about the Adnams Community Trust and the great work it is supporting here.

 

Every November, the Adnams 10k Run raises additional funds for the Trust, as well regional charities that are personal to those taking part. You can find out more about the run here.

 

We organise three beach cleans every year, in partnership with the Marine Conservation Society. Supported by plucky local residents and staff volunteers, we collect litter and important data about 'our stretch,' which runs from Gun Hill to Southwold Harbour. Learn how to take part in our beach cleans here.

Our local community is very important to us, after all, most of us live there. We donate 1% of our annual profits to valuable causes via The Adnams Community Trust. To date, the Trust has awarded over 1,500 grants to organisations within 25 miles of Southwold. It has supported lots of amazing projects doing vital work, and we are proud of playing our part. You can find out more about the Adnams Community Trust and the great work it is supporting here.

 

Every November, the Adnams 10k Run raises additional funds for the Trust, as well regional charities that are personal to those taking part.. You can find out more about the run here.

 

We organise three beach cleans every year, in partnership with the Marine Conservation Society. Supported by plucky local residents and staff volunteers, we collect litter and important data about 'our stretch,' which runs from Gun Hill to Southwold Harbour. Learn how to take part in our beach cleans here.


energy

Energy

Here on the Suffolk coast, we are aware of the impact of extreme weather. In the past we’ve lost towns to the waves. We are determined to reduce our carbon emissions and our impact on natural resources, to help fight climate change and to protect our coastal home for the future. We were the first UK brewery to complete a full carbon life-cycle assessment of our beer range. We work with our suppliers too; because we’re all in this together.

 

If we could harness the enthusiasm of our teams, we could power a town like Southwold. That’s not an option, so we work hard to reduce our consumption; and the energy we do use is from a renewable source. We began procuring our UK-based zero carbon energy back in 2012 and in 2017 we switched the entire business to a 100% certified renewable electricity supply. It heats water in our brewery and distillery, as well as the shower in your hotel room. It keeps our shops delivering and it beckons you to our pubs in the evening.

Here on the Suffolk coast, we are aware of the impact of extreme weather. In the past we’ve lost towns to the waves. We are determined to reduce our carbon emissions and our impact on natural resources, to help fight climate change and to protect our coastal home for the future. We were the first UK brewery to complete a full carbon life-cycle assessment of our beer range. We work with our suppliers too; because we’re all in this together.

 

If we could harness the enthusiasm of our teams, we could power a town like Southwold. That’s not an option, so we work hard to reduce our consumption; and the energy we do use is from a renewable source. We began procuring our UK-based zero carbon energy back in 2012 and in 2017 we switched the entire business to a 100% certified renewable electricity supply. It heats water in our brewery and distillery, as well as the shower in your hotel room. It keeps our shops delivering and it beckons you to our pubs in the evening.


Water

Water

It’s hard to make drinks without water, so we wanted to really dive in. It’s about more than just finding efficiencies. We wanted to understand how water flowed across the lifecycle of our products, so we could plan in mitigation from the start. We were the first UK brewery to complete a full water life-cycle assessment, to understand and influence the broader impact of our products. We have won the Edie Sustainability Leaders Award for Water Management twice, and more recently were recognised for our work in reducing consumption, with a Footprint Award for Energy Efficiency.

 

We identified that the distillery produced a high temperature water waste stream and realised a valuable resource was going down the drain. All that heat and water is now captured and reused. A closed loop recovery system uses heat exchangers to redirect that resource to another use. This technology has decreased water use in the distillery and reduced our energy bills. Our brewery recovers more than 90% of the steam it produces and converts it back into heat for the next batch. These projects are beginning to have an impact, and we expect to save 2 million litres of water this year.

 

Our sustainable distribution centre continues to give back. Its rainwater harvesting system saves around 1 million litres each year. Recycled rainwater is used to wash our trucks and flush our toilets. When it opened in 2006, it won a BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Assessment Method) Award for excellence. The thermally efficient and locally grown hemp and lime walls reduce our electricity use, helping reduce our carbon emissions.

The It’s hard to make drinks without water, so we wanted to really dive in. It’s about more than just finding efficiencies. We wanted to understand how water flowed across the lifecycle of our products, so we could plan in mitigation from the start. We were the first UK brewery to complete a full water life-cycle assessment, to understand and influence the broader impact of our products. We have won the Edie Sustainability Leaders Award for Water Management twice, and more recently we were recognised for our work around reducing consumption, with a Footprint Award for Energy Efficiency.

 

We identified that the distillery produced a high temperature water waste stream and realised a valuable was going down the drain. All that heat and water is now captured and reused. A closed loop recovery system uses heat exchangers to redirect that resource to another use. This technology has decreased water use in the distillery and reduced our energy bills. Our brewery recovers more than 90% of the steam it produces and converts it back into heat for the next batch. These projects are beginning to have an impact, and we expect to save 2 million litres of water this year.

 

Our sustainable distribution centre continues to give back. Its rainwater harvesting system saves around 1 million litres each year. Recycled rainwater is used to wash our trucks and flush our toilets. When it opened in 2006, it won a BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Assessment Method) Award for excellence. The thermally efficient and locally grown hemp and lime walls reduce our electricity use, helping reduce our carbon emissions.

 


Waste

Trash, or treasure? We always look for a positive and regard our waste as a potential resource. Years ago, it went to the brewery’s pig farm. They feasted under a banner that declared ‘Adnams pigs are happy pigs.' Today, we feed equally happy herds of cows with our spent grain and still treat local pigs to our excess yeast. Anything we can't reuse is sent for anaerobic digestion to be turned into energy.

 

We are continually improving our packaging, having previously light-weighted our glass bottles by 38%. We have created cardboard-only multipacks that can be sent without outer packaging and new products are only developed in cardboard. We have committed to removing shrink wrap from seasonal and limited releases like our collaboration can cases. This is removing 18 tonnes of plastic from use each year. Find our more about our efforts to shrink our shrink wrap use here.

 

With the launch of our sustainable collaboration brew, Nevermore, we made a commitment to increase our use of English hop varieties in our beers. As well as providing some amazing flavours and aromas, they have a lower carbon footprint for us and require less irrigation.

waste

Trash, or treasure? We always look for a positive and regard our waste as a potential resource. Years ago, our it went to the brewery’s pig farm. They feasted under a banner that declared ‘Adnams pigs are happy pigs.' Today, we feed equally happy herds of cows with our spent grain and still treat local pigs to our excess yeast. Anything we can't reuse is sent for anaerobic digestion to be turned into energy.

 

We are continually improving our packaging, having previously light-weighted our glass bottles by 38%. We have created cardboard-only multipacks that can be sent without outer packaging and new products are only developed in cardboard. We have committed to removing shrink wrap from seasonal and limited releases like our collaboration can cases. This is removing 18 tonnes of plastic from use each year. Find our more about our efforts to shrink our shrink wrap use here.

NATURAL ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

NATURAL

ENVIRONMENT

We have our very own beekeeper, Steve, who is buzy (sorry) looking after around one million bees at our environmentally friendly distribution centre in Reydon. We’ve encouraged wildflowers to grow, and the bees enjoy feeding from the sedum growing on our green roof. Their Reydon home forms part of a bee corridor along the Suffolk coast, where our bees can stop off at points along the route. The honey they produce is used in The Crown Hotel in Southwold.

 

We produce grain-to-glass beers and spirits using locally grown natural ingredients. Our rye is grown by our Chairman, Jonathan Adnams, on his farm just up the road. The bulk of our barley is grown for us by the Holkham Estate in North Norfolk. Some of the best grain in the world is grown in East Anglia, so it wouldn’t make sense not to use it.

 

With the launch of our sustainable collaboration brew, Nevermore, we made a commitment to increase our use of English hop varieties in our beers. As well as providing some amazing flavours and aromas, they have a lower carbon footprint for us and require less irrigation.

SOCIAL

RESPONSIBILITY

We want to do the right thing, the right way, across all we do; even when no one is looking. We have to put our principles into practice and look beyond ourselves. This is especially true in our commitment to equality, diversity, and social justice.

 

We’re lucky that we have a beautiful beach on our doorstep, so getting out for a walk at lunchtime is rarely a chore. We’ve developed a range of low-alcohol beers and wines which can be enjoyed as part of a healthy lifestyle - remember, you can have too much of a good thing!

 

Adnams is a founding member of ‘Open to Everyone, Closed to Racism.’ We share our hometown with its founder, Jessica Gregson, so we were proud to get involved with this scheme. It aims to assist businesses in visibly promoting inclusivity front-of-house, while supporting them with expertise and education behind the scenes.

SOCIAL

RESPONSIBILITY

We want to do the right thing, the right way, across all we do; even when no one is looking. We have to put our principles into practice and look beyond ourselves. This is especially true in our commitment to equality, diversity, and social justice.

 

We’re lucky that we have a beautiful beach on our doorstep, so getting out for a walk at lunchtime is rarely a chore. We’ve developed a range of low-alcohol beers and wines which can be enjoyed as part of a healthy lifestyle - remember, you can have too much of a good thing!

 

Adnams is a founding member of ‘Open to Everyone, Closed to Racism.’ We share our hometown with its founder, Jessica Gregson, so we were proud to get involved with this scheme. It aims to assist businesses in visibly promoting inclusivity front-of-house, while supporting them with expertise and education behind the scenes.

THE QUEEN’S AWARD FOR ENTERPRISE:
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT THREE TIMES

 

We’ve received The Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Sustainable Development, three times – most recently in 2020. It’s awarded to businesses whose products and services benefit the environment, society and the economy, and it marks us out as one of the leading businesses for sustainable practice in the UK. We’ll keep working hard at doing what we do without it costing the earth.

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